The English Renaissance 1485-1660

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The English Renaissance 1485-1660

• Queen Elizabeth I 15581603
• Queen Elizabeth I lead England as a woman, in
  what was very much a man's World, and she did
  this with courage, intelligence and loyalty to
  her friends

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Think about

• The Renaissance era in Europe and in England was
  marked by a change in the way people thought
  about themselves and the world.
• No longer content with the fixed religious
  beliefs of the Middle Ages, people became more
  interested in expanding their knowledge of
  history, art, science, and especially the classic
  texts of ancient Greece and Rome.
• The Roman Catholic Church was challenged on a
  number of fronts.
• By the end of the sixteenth century, the Church
  had lost its position as the supreme moral and
  political power in Europe.

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Rediscovering Ancient Greece and Rome

• Renaissance is a French word meaning rebirth
  and it refers to the renewed interest in
  classical learning (writers of ancient Greece and
  Rome).
• Few ordinary people could read.
• Those who could read were encouraged to study
  texts explaining Church doctrine.

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Spirit of Rebirth

• Some people became more curious about themselves
  and their world than people had been in the
  Middle ages, so that gradually there was a
  renewal of the human spirit, curiosity and
  creativity.
• We use the term Renaissance person for an
  energetic and productive human being who is
  interested in science, literature, history, art,
  and other subjects.
• EX/ Thomas Jefferson.

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Flourish of Genius

• Galileo- telescope
• Leonardo daVinci
• Michelangelo- Sistine Chapel
• Christopher Columbus
• Almost everyone in Europe was were Roman Catholic
  so the church was very rich and powerful, even in
  political affairs

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Livin the Good life

• Refreshed by the classics, the new writers and
  artists were part of an intellectual movement
  known as humanism.
• Humanists asked What is a human being? What is a
  good life? How do I lead a good life?
• Christianity provided complete answers to these
  questions
• The aim of life is to attain virtue, not success
  of money or fame, because virtue is the best
  possible human possession and the only source of
  true happiness.

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New Technology

• The printing Press transformed the way
  information was exchanged during the Renaissance.
  
• Prior to the printing press, the books were
  written out by hand.
• Began a movement for Standardized English

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The Reformation Breaking with the Church

• Reformers rejected the authority of the pope and
  the Italian churchmen. In
• England, conflicts with the papacy had occurred
  off and on over century but could not longer
  remain civil and a break with the Roman Catholic
  church could no longer be avoided.
• Caused by strong feelings of patriotism,
  national identity caused resentment against the
  Vatican for imposing financial burdens on them.
• New Religious ideas (Christianity based on the
  Bible- not what the pope says)
• THE CHURCH NEEDED A REFORM

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King vs. Pope

• The generations-old conflict between the pope and
  the king of England came to climax when Henry
  VIII wanted to get rid of his wife of twenty-four
  years.
• Divorce wasnt allowed and so Henry needed a
  loophole
• He asked the Pope to declare that he and his wife
  (Catherine of Aragon) were not properly married..
  The pope refused and so Henry named a new
  archbishop of Canterbury who WOULD declare their
  marriage invalid.
• Then, Henry broke from the church and named
  himself head of the Church

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• Arthur Prince of Wales King Henry VIII

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Baby Mama Drama

• Why did Henry want a divorce so badly that he
  broke with the church?
• Catherine was unable to have a son although she
  did produce a girl (Mary).
• He lusted after a maid in waiting. And then fell
  in love with her sister, Ann Boleyn who refused
  to sleep with him unless they were married.
• He divorced Catherine and had a baby girl with
  Ann (Elizabeth).
• Catherine was put under house arrest because she
  refused to accept the annulment.

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• King Henry the Eighth, to six wives he was
  wedded One died, one survived, two divorced, two
  beheaded."

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Queen Mary Ann
Boleyn-aka Mom Jane Seymour of
Aragon (divorced) (Beheaded)
bore Edward I

(Died)
Ann of Cleves Catherine Howard
Catherine ParrAka The Flanders
Mare Adulterer (Beheaded) Married Thomas
Seymour (Divorced)

(Survived!)
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• Henry Catherine of Aragon
• Mary
• Henry Anne Boleyn
• Elizabeth
• Henry Jane Seymour
• Edward

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After King Henrys Death

• Jane Grey("The Nine Days' Queen")10 July19
  July 1553 (Excecuted)

• Edward VI28 January15471553
• Protestant
• Elizabeth I("The Virgin Queen")17
  November15581603
• Protestant

• Henry VIII21 April15091547
• Catholic-Protestant
• Mary I("Bloody Mary")19 July15531558
• Catholic

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Accomplishments

• It was a major accomplishment that she ever
  survived to become Queen of England! Her mother
  was executed on the charge of Treason, adultery
  and incest. She was branded a bastard by her
  father, King Henry VIII. She lost her title of
  Princess Elizabeth and had to be referred to as
  Lady Elizabeth!
• It was a major accomplishment to survive the
  questioning she endured at the Tower of London
  when she was imprisoned there by her half-sister
  Mary Tudor ( aka Mary I Bloody Mary). She was
  accused of being involved with the Protestant
  rebellion, led by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger
• Her reign witnessed widespread increase in
  literacy and great achievements in the arts  -
  great poets and playrights emerged during her era
  such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser,
  Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh)

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Accomplishments cont

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth I also saw
  significant expansion overseas. Great explorers
  were encouraged such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir
  Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Humphrey
  Gilbert and Sir Richard Greenville
• The new scientific thinking of the renaissance
  was encouraged and important men such as Sir
  Francis Bacon and Dr. John Dee emerged during the
  Elizabethan era
• She achieved an excellent reputation as a good
  and wise ruler, who was truly loved by her people
  - she was highly accomplished in the art of
  rhetoric and Public Relations

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• Robert Dudley

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Accomplishments

• A major accomplishment was the defeat of the
  Spanish Armada of 132 by the English fleet of  34
  ships and 163 armed merchant vessels under Lord
  Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir
  John Hawkins
• Her reign saw several rebellions - from the
  Irish, The Rising of the North and the Essex
  rebellion - all of which she defeated
• She survived various Catholic plots and
  conspiracies such as the Babbington plot
  involving Mary Queen of Scots

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Death Threats

• Mary of ScotlandElizabeth survived many pots
  against her life.
• Several were from her cousin Mary Stuart, Queen
  of Scots (Catholic).
• Because Elizabeth had not children, Mary was heir
  to Englands throne because she too was descended
  of Henry VII.
• Mary was under house arrest but continued to plot
  against Elizabeth. Eventually, Elizabeth sent her
  cousin to the chopping block.

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The Spanish Armada Sinks

• A major accomplishment was the defeat of the
  Spanish Armada of 132 by the English fleet of  34
  ships and 163 armed merchant vessels under Lord
  Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir
  John Hawkins
• King Philip of Spain (Catholic) used Marys
  execution as an excuse to invade England (to save
  England from Hell). He assembled a fleet of
  warships for that purpose the famous Spanish
  Armada.
• England's Royal Navy destroyed the Armada which
  assured Englands independence from the powerful
  Catholic countries of the Mediterranean.

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Flood of Literature

• What is the connection between these political
  events and English literature?
• After the defeat of the Armada, Elizabeth became
  a beloved symbol of peace, security and
  prosperity to her subjects and sh eprovided
  isnpiration to scores of English authors.
• Others were dedicated to her because she was a
  known connoisseur of literature.

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William Shakespeare
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Accomplishments

• Queen Elizabeth adopted a moderate religious
  policy. The Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
  (1559), the introduction of the Prayer Book of
  1559, and the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) were
  all Protestant in doctrine, but preserved many
  traditionally Catholic ceremonies. Although a
  Protestant she did not persecute Catholics with
  conviction - she adopted a moderate approach
• She established Protestantism as the country's
  religion

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Pope Sixtus V said

• "She is only a woman, only mistress of half an
  island, and yet she makes herself feared by
  Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all".
• Under Elizabeth, the nation gained a new
  self-confidence and sense of sovereignty, as
  Christendom fragmented.

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• Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603
  without issue, the Scottish king, James VI,
  succeeded to the English throne as James I in
  what became known as the Union of the Crowns. In
  1604 he adopted the title King of Great Britain,
  although the two kingdoms remained separate.

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Decline of the Renaissance

• The difficulties of Jamess reign became the
  impossibilities of his sons. Charles I turned
  out to be self-destructive.
• Some of his subjects had him beheaded in 1649.
• For the next 11 years, England was ruled by
  Parliament and the Puritan dictator Oliver
  Cromwell, not by a king.

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• When Charless self-indulgent son, Charles II
  returned from Exile and came to power eleven
  years later, England had changed in many
  important ways.
• Renaissance religious morality had eroded
• Renaissance energies gradually gave out
• Educated people began to become more worldly in
  their outlook.
• Scientific truths were soon to challenge
  long-accepted religious beliefs.

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